“A Brief History of Rome” - InforMNs

defend his native land when Roman soldiers invaded Africa in 202 BC. The Roman army defeated Hannibal in Africa
and won the second Punic War.
Carthage was no longer in a position to hurt Rome after the second Punic War, but in 149 BC, Roman leaders
decided to destroy Carthage. A Roman senator named Cato ended every speech with the cry, "Carthage must be
destroyed." Rome defeated Carthage after almost three years of war. After a siege in 146 BC, the Romans went from
house to house slaughtering the people of Carthage. They sold the remaining citizens into slavery, burned Carthage's
harbor, and poured salt on the Carthaginian farmland. The salt made it impossible for crops to grow and ensured that
Carthage would never again rival the Eternal City.
Spartacus
Rome needed workers to maintain its wealth. The first conquered people were welcomed as Roman citizens, but
after 265 BC, many conquered people were auctioned off as slaves. A great deal of the grandeur of Rome was created
by the grueling labor of slaves.
A slave named Spartacus led a revolt against the Romans 73 BC. Spartacus built an army of thousands of soldiers
from slaves he and his followers liberated. The slaves resisted the Roman army for more than two years and plundered
the Italian countryside.
The Roman councils sent an army of 40,000 soldiers to defeat the slave revolt. Spartacus was killed in battle, but
six thousand of his soldiers were taken prisoner and crucified. Crucifixion is a form of execution where the prisoner is
nailed to a cross and left to die a slow, painful death. Crosses stretched for miles along the Apian Way, one of Rome's
most traveled roadways. They served as a gruesome reminder of the strength and the brutality of the Roman army.
Julius Caesar
Rome was a huge and very rich empire after the second Punic War, but the Senate did a poor job of running the
republic. The senate was designed to govern a city, not a growing empire. The senators often took bribes or were not
careful about how they voted in the forum. Many Romans wanted a strong leader, and the ambitious Julius Caesar
was an obvious choice.
Caesar sought the office of consul in 60 BC. He had recently returned from Spain where he served a year as
governor. The two consuls at the time were Crassus and Pompey, the leaders of the war against the slave revolt.
Rather than become involved in a struggle, Caesar convinced Crassus, Pompey, and the Roman Senate to name him a
third consul. This coalition of three equal rulers later became known as the First Triumvirate.
When Caesar's year-long term as consul ended, he used his influence to get himself appointed governor of Gaul.
Gaul was a territory northwest of the Italian peninsula. He led an army that captured most of Western Europe.
Caesar's successes on the battlefield made him the most popular man in Rome.
In 49 BC, the Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome, but to leave his army behind. Caesar feared that his
opponents would destroy him, so he ignored the order and marched his army back to Rome. Caesar's orders clearly
told him not to bring his army across the Rubicon River. When he marched the army across the river, he knew he
faced an important decision. Caesar knew that if he obeyed the senate and disbanded his army, his career would be
over; but if he marched his troops across the river, the Senate would order Pompey and his army to retaliate. Today
when people say they are "crossing the Rubicon," they refer to a very significant decision that cannot be undone.
Caesar's army seized control of Italy while Pompey and his army fled to Greece. Caesar hunted Pompey and
defeated his army. Pompey then escaped to Egypt with Caesar in pursuit. When Caesar arrived in Egypt, the ten-yearold
king of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII, presented Caesar with Pompey's decapitated head.
The Roman people admired Caesar as a war hero and a strong leader. In 46 BC, they elected him dictator of Rome.
A dictator is a ruler with complete control. In that time, dictators were temporary rulers elected in times of crisis, but